


Bloom

by thonghyuck



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Donghyuck is mute, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mentions of child neglect, Mild Language, Slight mentions of psychological trauma, Slow Burn, Soulmates, jisung and chenle are babies, selective mutism, the rating might change eventually!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25099885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thonghyuck/pseuds/thonghyuck
Summary: Mark already made his peace with the prospect of staying alone for the rest of his life. When he didn’t get a mark at sixteen, he assumed that his soulmate was either dead, or worse - didn’t want him.As it turns out, life has a way with things, because he does indeed have a soulmate, just a really quiet one.(soulmate!au, where the first words your soulmate will say to you appear on your body like a tattoo; a story where Mark thinks he doesn’t have a soulmate because Donghyuck is mute.)
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 14
Kudos: 94





	1. one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ages are a bit jumbled up, so here is a bit of guidance.
> 
> 00 liners are all the same age and Mark is still a year older than them. Jisung and Chenle are both significantly younger, being 7 and 8 years old respectively (hehe they're super cute!)
> 
> The hyungs are all older, but that will be mentioned separately.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy!

For as long as he could remember, Mark was told that finding a soulmate was the single best thing that could possibly happen to him. Soulmates supposedly gave meaning to your life, made each day brighter and became the centre of your universe from the second you find them.

_“But mom, how will I know if they’re my soulmate?” He asked one time, curled up in his mother’s lap. Little Mark still couldn’t believe that there was a person out there, someone who was made just for him, someone who could make his life a fairy tale._

_His mother patted his cheek softly, placing a small kiss to his forehead. “When you turn sixteen, you’ll see a mark on your body. It will be the first words your soulmate will say to you and that’s how you’ll find them. And when you do, you’ll never want to let them go.”_

_Mark had perked up at her words, turning in her lap. “And they will love me forever?” he said, sounding so hopeful that his mom chuckled softly, cuddling her son closer to her chest. “Yes, they’ll love you forever.”_

_Mark had finally settled down then and closed his eyes, wishing that he was sixteen already._

Except life always has her way with things, because here he is, at eighteen years old, drowning in a dysfunctional family _without a single word on his body._

***

A quiet noise of the alarm broke the silence of the bedroom. 

Mark, abruptly woken from his slumber, blindly reached over in the direction of the nightstand, silencing the alarm clock. He grew accustomed to the sound over the years, so waking up to it has been significantly harder than just ignoring it. 

He pulled back into the comfort of his blankets, making a mental note to himself to change the melody to something louder just in case. He really can’t afford to be sleeping in anymore, now that he has his brother to take care of. 

Fifteen minutes later and still half asleep, Mark stumbled into the living room and to his surprise, found that Jisung was already awake. The seven year old was on the couch watching the kids morning programme, bundled up in multiple blankets. 

His gaze flicked up to the clock above the TV. 7:03am. _Why is he awake already?_ Mark would’ve only woken him up at 7:30 at the earliest. 

Frowning, he made his way to his brother, careful not to startle him.

“Hey Sungie,” Mark said softly and made a move to crouch down in front of the couch. “What are you doing up so early?” He continued, reaching out to card his fingers through Jisung’s soft hair. The boy smiled at that, leaning into the touch and sliding his eyes shut. 

Mark’s heart instantly filled with affection for his brother and for the millionth time that day, he thanked whatever higher power there was for giving him Jisung. His life was most definitely shit, but Jisung had been the one constant that kept him going even in the worst days. That meant that his little brother’s wellbeing was at the top of Mark’s priorities. 

“Couldn’t sleep...” his brother murmured, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He was still dressed in his favorite Iron Man pajama set and looked absolutely adorable. 

“What’s wrong?” Mark pressed, instantly reaching out to press his hand against the younger’s forehead. No fever, good. Must be something else then.

But when Jisung remained silent and pointedly looked away, Mark followed his gaze. His eyes caught something on the floor and it only took him a second to recognise the empty bottle of soju lying there. He felt his hands curl into fists as he connected the dots. 

Their mother, as per usual, came home drunk in the middle of the night and kicked up a fuss. Mark had tried his best to silence her and send her off to bed, but they must’ve still woken Jisungie up. 

The younger always got upset when Mark and their mother argued and had trouble going to bed afterwards, usually seeking out his older brother to sing him to sleep. Mark stayed up in case Jisung needed him but when the boy didn’t come knocking, he assumed that his brother didn’t hear them fighting at night. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. 

However, talking about their mother this early in the morning was the last thing either of them needed, so he took a deep breath, tried his best to calm down and slapped on the most cheerful smile he could muster. 

“That’s okay, it’s a big day for you!” He said, hoping that the change of topic would cheer his younger brother up. Sungie was starting elementary school today and he has been buzzing about it for weeks now. Mark was also looking forward to it, albeit for a different reason: it meant that he didn’t have to feel guilty about constantly asking their neighbour to babysit Jisung anymore.

His idea seemed to do the trick, as Sung’s face lit up instantly. And at that, Mark felt the knot in his chest loosen; the smile on his face was a bit more genuine this time. 

Trying his best to keep Jisung’s mood up, he helped his brother get out of the cocoon of blankets and ushered him in the direction of the bathroom. “Go get dressed. We don’t want to be late on your first day now, do we?”

Jisung nodded, squeezing Mark in the strongest hug a seven year old can manage. Smiling, the elder mussed his hair and shooed the kid away. He made sure to wait until he heard Jisung turn on the sink, and only then he let the smile slip off his face. 

Mark stood there, giving himself a couple of minutes to calm down. He was still buzzing with irritation towards his mother for being so selfish, but at this point it really wasn’t anything new. 

So he did what he knew how to best: swallowed down the anger and kept going, at least for Jisungie’s sake. Bending down to pick up the godforsaken bottle, he started making his way to the kitchen.

Their breakfast wasn’t going to manifest itself, unfortunately. 

***

“Jaemin-ah, hurry up!” he called out to his best friend, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. Ever since Mark was old enough to drive his mom’s car, he has made it a habit to pick Jaemin up every morning and drive to school together. Their school was almost a half an hour walk otherwise and school buses, understandably, were nobody’s first choice. They were running a bit late today though and Mark was growing restless.

A moment later, the passenger door swung open, letting a giddy looking Jaemin into the car. “Morning guys!” He said with a beaming smile on his face. Jaemin was always like that: cheerful, friendly and lively. That was one of the reasons Mark cherished his friend so much, although he’d never admit it out loud.

Jisung perked up in his seat, excited to see his favourite hyung. “Good morning, Jaemin hyung!” He reached out his tiny fist to which Jaemin instantly responded with a fist bump of his own. Mark watched the interaction fondly, before turning his steering wheel and pulling into the main road.

“What’s gotten to you so early in the morning, Nana? Renjun finally decided to acknowledge your existence?” He teased, knowing that his best friend won’t take offense. 

“Oh shut up you bitch,” Jaemin scoffed from where he was fiddling with the radio. “Renjun doesn’t _acknowledge my existence_ -,” Mark didn’t need to look at his friend to know that he was rolling his eyes, “-only because I haven’t tried speaking to him yet.”

The topic of Jaemin’s “eternal and unrequited” love for Huang Renjun has always been an entertaining one. Jaemin, the idiot he is, has been crushing on the boy for years now, yet hasn’t made a single attempt to talk to him. He always planned out his moves and chickened out the last minute, making stupid excuses every time. 

Jisung poked his head out from the backseat in curiosity. “Jaemin hyung, this boy, is he your soulmate?” he said, excited to hear more about his hyung’s crush.

Mark stilled in his seat, breath caught in his throat. Talking about soulmates was never easy for him. Even though he tried to convince himself that it doesn’t upset him to not have a soulmate, it still hurt every fucking time.

Neither Jaemin nor Jisung seemed to have noticed his reaction, for which he was grateful. Mark hated not being able to teach his brother about soulmates properly: he cringed at the bitter taste in his mouth every time Jisung brought up the topic. So he opted to quietly listen instead. 

Jaemin laughed at the question and instinctively reached over to his forearm where his soulmate’s mark was hidden underneath the school blazer. “I don’t know yet, Jisungie, but I doubt it. Whoever my soulmate is, they don’t seem to like me very much.”

Mark remembers the day vividly; he slept over at his best friend’s house the night before Jaemin’s sixteenth birthday. They stayed up late, eager to see what words would show up, but both fell asleep somewhere around midnight. The next morning though, Mark woke up to his best friend _screeching_. It didn’t take him long to notice the “ **what the fuck is this clown doing here** ” that was permanently etched into Jaemin’s left forearm.

He laughed at the memory, finding it absolutely hilarious that his best friend’s soulmate seems to have a good sense of humour. “Yeah, Jaemin, I can only imagine.” Mark said, instantly regretting it when Jaemin punched him in the shoulder in retaliation. 

“Before you even ask, Sungie, I won’t show it to you. You’re too young to see words like that.” Jaemin turned back and ruffled the boy’s hair when Jisung made a noise of protest. 

“But I hear bad words all the time! You and Mark hyung always curse when you play video games!”

“Yah, show some respect to your hyungs!” Mark chided, pulling into the school’s parking lot. Jaemin snickered and Jisung left it at that, quietly grumbling to himself as he started getting ready to leave.

The lot was packed with cars already and it took them a while to find a spot. According to the dash clock, they only had five minutes before Jisung would have to be registering, so Mark shut off the engine and turned to the two boys in the car.

“Let’s get this day started, shall we?”

~~~

Speaking, Donghyuck thinks, is such a simple thing to do. Speech is one of the main ways for communication, most people don’t have to think twice about it and do it so effortlessly. 

Years ago he was one of those people too. He didn’t hesitate to say words, laugh or even sing. 

Selective mutism, the shrink had said, which was utter bullshit by the way, because Donghyuck didn’t choose this. He didn’t choose to be a grown ass dude and not be able to make a goddamn sound, he didn’t choose any of it.

Many years of hard work after the accident, countless hours with all the therapists that Johnny had dragged him to didn’t yield any results, because he is seventeen years old and still absolutely mute.

It became easier with time though. He moved away from Jeju and started a new life here in Seoul. The apparent psychological trauma he was left with was the only reminder of what had happened back there. 

But his uncle Johnny took him in as his own, took really good care of him and became something akin to a father figure in his life. Taeyong came along not long after and they both did everything to make him happy. They learned sign language, they were patient with him and treated him like a normal kid. For that, he’ll forever be grateful.  
Moving to Seoul was definitely the right thing to do. Ever since he was a small kid he was obsessed with the city, mesmerized by the views and the beauty of it. He made friends too, but Renjun easily became the best out of all of them.

Back then, eight year old Renjun had only just arrived in Korea and barely spoke the language. Donghyuck thinks that’s what made them such good friends: two lonely boys who couldn’t communicate with others quickly became inseparable. 

Some time later, Renjun became fluent in Korean, Donghyuck became fluent in sign language and it was the two of them against the whole world. For the first time in years, with Johnny and Taeyong and Renjun by his side, he was truly happy.

~~~

It was the sweet smell of pancakes that lured him downstairs. Taeyong was standing with his back to him with a cute pink apron on, quietly humming to the song playing on the TV. It was one of those cheesy pop hits that Donghyuck had heard playing on the radio a million times.

He silently walked up to stand behind his hyung with a cheeky smile and clapped his hands right by Taeyong’s ear. His plan instantly gave the results he wanted, because a second later the elder had startled, jumping at least three feet with hands coming up to clutch his chest. 

After composing himself, he made his way back to the stove with a badly concealed smile on his face. “You brat!” he exclaimed, playfully smacking Donghyuck with a kitchen towel. “Don’t ever sneak up on me like that, I nearly had a heart attack!” 

Donghyuck airily chucked at that and shrugged his shoulders. _“You didn’t hear me come up, it was my only way to get your attention,”_ he signed with an innocent smile on his face. He loved Taeyong dearly, but riling him up was his favorite activity.

“Yeah-yeah, keep it up and you won’t get any breakfast,” Taeyong said, and contrary to his words placed a steaming plate of pancakes on the table.

Donghyuck only smirked at that, dragging a chair up to the kitchen island. _“You wouldn’t do that to me hyung, you love me too much.”_

“I can still make you do the dishes,” Taeyong threateningly pointed the spatula in his hand at Donghyuck. He immediately raised his hands in defeat, scrunching up his face in apology. The only thing he hated more than homework was chores.

“That’s what I thought.” Taeyong, proud to have won the argument, took a seat next to his nephew. He took a sip of the orange juice and changed the topic. “Now, Johnny has already left for work, but I’m only going in an hour. Do you need me to drop you off at school?”  
Donghyuck’s hands were busy, so he could only shake his head. After he finished chewing, he put down the cutlery and turned to Taeyong. _“It’s okay,”_ he signed, _“Renjun is coming to pick me up. Thank you, hyung!”_

“Oh, that’s good!” Taeyong responded, instantly lighting up at the mention of the boy. “I’m making bulgogi for dinner, you can invite him over tonight.”

 _“Yeah we all know that you love Renjun more than me.”_ Donghyuck chuckled with no malice behind his words. Well, more like gestures.

Taeyong rolled his eyes and dug into his breakfast. “That’s because he has manners and respects his elders unlike someone here,” he pointedly looked at Donghyuck. At that moment, the doorbell rang, saving him from a scolding speech Taeyong was definitely preparing.

 _“That must be him,”_ Donghyuck smiled, getting up. He wiped his hands on the tissue and moved over to peck his uncle on the cheek quickly. _“Thank you for the food hyung, it was delicious.”_

He picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, making his way to the door. “Don’t forget about dinner!” Taeyong called after him, to which he replied with a simple thumbs up.

Renjun was waiting by the door looking as grumpy as ever. It was good to know it wasn’t only Donghyuck who hated school.

“Hey there,” Renjun said out loud along and signed at the same time. He didn’t really need to sign when he spoke to Donghyuck (his hearing was perfectly fine), but always did it anyway. Renjun using sign language made him feel more normal, in a way. It was a really nice gesture and Donghyuck loved his friend dearly for that. 

They didn’t really speak much in the car, mostly because Renjun would have to take his attention off the road to see what Donghyuck was saying, so they opted to listening to music instead. Renjun was singing along and Hyuck was bopping his head to the beat. 

Renjun had a really nice and pleasant voice and in moments like this Donghyuck wondered what his own voice would sound like. Would it be lower since he’d hit puberty? Would he be completely tone deaf? He didn’t really know. 

He was ripped out of his thoughts when Renjun made a sharp turn into the parking spot. _“Jesus, whoever gave you a license?! You’re going to kill us like this one day!”_

Renjun only shrugged and took the keys out of the ignition. “If you have a problem with my driving, you can start taking the school bus, Hyuckie.”

Donghyuck punched his friend in the shoulder as they made their way into the school building. _“I told you to stop calling me that!”_ To which Renjun only laughed in response. “Sure, whatever you say, princess.”

***

Contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t stupid. Sure, his grades weren’t great, but Mark knew that was not due to him lacking the capability. Jaemin always told him that if he “bothered to do homework at least once in his life” he would definitely see an improvement. But his main priority for the past three years has been taking care of his younger brother, cleaning up their mother’s messes and trying to make enough money to support them. That didn’t leave him enough time to get a good night’s sleep sometimes, let alone waste it on homework. Switching back to part-time at work after the summer and starting his senior year of high school would take a while to get adjusted to. 

According to the schedule handed him by his homeroom teacher that morning, his second period of the day would be Geometry with Mrs Kim. He winced slightly at the prospect of having to endure an hour of class with the grumpiest teacher in the whole school. At least he’ll have Jaemin there with him.

And sure enough, upon his arrival to the classroom he found that his best friend had already saved him a spot at the table. Their eyes met and Jaemin sent him a dazzling smile, patting on the empty chair next to him. Mark started walking over, a grin glued to his face, not realising the sharp look the teacher was shooting his way. 

He didn’t even get to set his backpack in the chair, when Mrs Kim appeared right in front of him. “No, absolutely not.” She shook her head. “I will not tolerate the two of you sitting together this year.” 

Mark was sure that the desperation in his best friend’s face was mimicked by his own.  
Jaemin was the first to speak up. “Mrs Kim, I can assure you-”  
“I don’t want to hear any of it,” she cut him off swiftly, already walking over to the table in the back row. “Haneul,” she said to the girl sitting there. “Would you be so kind as to swap seats with Mark?” 

They looked back, only to watch the quiet girl, Haneul, haphazardly packing her things. She got up from her seat and brushed past him, but not before saying a couple words to her former seatmate. Mark was sure he heard the girl say something like “i'm sorry” to the guy, to which the boy only nodded, keeping his head down. 

_That’s weird_ , Mark thought to himself. _Why would she say that?_

“Mr Lee,” the teacher grew impatient as he stood there, trying to prolong the moment until he had to sit down next to the weird kid. “We don’t have all day.”

Under Mrs Kim’s tentative gaze he obliged, walking over slowly. He shot his best friend a small encouraging smile, knowing all too well that sitting next to Jaemin was his only chance of scraping by a “C” in this class. Mark took his sweet time walking to the table, dropping his bag on the floor and plopping himself onto the chair. It dangerously squeaked under his weight, but remained intact. 

The class went on as usual but he hardly paid it any mind. While the teacher was taking attendance, he busied himself trying to untangle his earphones. The only things that could get him through classes were good music and a lengthy nap. He wanted to catch up on the hours of lost sleep anyway.

But before putting his head down, he turned slightly, still curious as to whom he was sitting next to. The boy’s light brown hair was cascading down, covering half his face, but Mark still managed to make out the distantly familiar features. He was sure he’d seen the guy before. What was his name?

He was having an internal debate about whether or not he should try speaking to the guy. On one hand, he really doesn’t want to talk more than absolutely necessary. On the other, it would probably be less awkward if he was at least somewhat friendly with his seatmate for the year. _Who knows, maybe he’ll let me copy his work if I try to be nice,_ he thought to himself.

“Um, hi.” His voice cracked at the last syllable and Mark felt the blush creeping onto his cheeks. _You sound like an idiot, oh my god._ Thankfully, his new seatmate didn’t seem to hear him. He made sure to clear his throat this time. “I think I’ve seen you around before. What’s your name?”

Something must’ve happened, because the second the words left his mouth, the guy next to him suddenly startled, _hard_ , and nearly fell off his chair in the process. 

“Wow, wow!” Mark instinctively reached over, steadying the guy next to him. “Are you alright?” He said, completely puzzled at the reaction. The boy only moved away further, looking at Mark with something akin to fear in his eyes. He clearly did not want to be touched. 

“Hey, it's okay, I won’t do that again,” Mark said, instantly pulling away. He didn’t realise he startled the guy that much. “I’m not _that_ scary, am I?” His attempt at a joke to diffuse the situation was not met with any reaction. The guy next to him still looked like he'd seen a ghost.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?”

The guy, definitely, wasn’t. He was frozen in place, with his eyes boring into Mark’s. It sent chills down his spine, but for some reason, Mark just couldn’t bring himself to look away. Something in the boy’s eyes made his fingertips tingle, fighting the overwhelming urge to reach out and brush the bangs out of his face.

Before he could say or do anything stupid like that, the teacher broke the moment. “Mr Lee,” she snapped, drawing Mark’s attention to her. “Are you done interrupting my class or would you like to continue this conversation in the principal’s office?” 

He looked around, realising that no one seemed to pick up on his weird interaction earlier, and shot her an apologetic look. “I am sorry, Ma’am, that won’t happen again.”

At that, the boy next to him seemed to snap out of his frozen state and composed himself enough to straighten out in his chair and scoot away from Mark, even further than before. His hands were trembling but Mark didn’t dare to speak this time.

Thoughts were wreaking havoc in his head as he slowly moved back in his seat, finally putting his Spotify playlist on shuffle. He looked up to find that Jaemin had turned to look back at him with a concerned look on his face. Mark tried to smile as best as he could and shook his head to let his best friend know that he’s okay.

As the music began playing, he lowered his head into his folded arms. The scene from earlier refused to leave his mind as he replayed it in his head over and over again, trying to find any sort of explanation for the boy’s weird reaction and his own questionable actions. 

Minutes passed with his mind kept racing, but he tried his best to stop thinking about this encounter and calm down enough to get the much needed rest. 

_What the fuck was that_ , was the last thing Mark thought before the days of sleep deprivation had gotten the best of him and he slowly succumbed to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first work so I'm open to any and all criticism c:
> 
> I don't have much knowledge on psychogenic mutism, but this fic won't be going into any medical details. I'm sorry if I make any mistakes.
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments!


	2. two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: 
> 
> There is a panic attack described in the beginning of the chapter, so please be aware.
> 
> If you'd like to skip over it, it begins from _"Breathe, he told himself..."_ and ends at "...knees drawn up to his chest".
> 
> Enjoy!

Finding his soulmate, Donghyuck was told, was supposed to be the best thing that could happen to him. It was supposed to feel like finding a missing piece of himself that he’s been looking for his entire life. It’s funny how that worked out though, because the only thing he was feeling right now was fucking _panic_.

Donghyuck knew this day would come. He knew that eventually he'd find his soulmate. But knowing and being prepared are two absolutely different things, he finds as he stands in the old ratty gym bathroom and struggles to breathe properly. 

They’re such simple words, Donghyuck thinks. _I think I’ve seen you around before._ Anyone in this school, city, country could’ve said that to him, anyone but _him_.

Somebody up there must really be fucking with Donghyuck right now, because there’s no way in hell that out of all the people that could’ve said those words, it was _Mark Lee_ that ended up being his soulmate. 

The same Mark Lee that was mean to him since they were kids, the one who always bullied him into tears for being silent. The same Mark Lee that doesn’t even seem to remember his fucking name now. 

But there was no doubt that it was him, if the sharp pain of his soulmate mark was anything to go by. The words etched into the back of his shoulder were now searing under his clothes and hurt more and more as Donghyuck thought of Mark.

_Breathe_ , he told himself, clutching at his chest. His heart was beating so fast that Donghyuck thought it could leap out his chest any second now. _Calm the fuck down and breathe_ he tried, but it was of no use. A million thoughts were racing through his mind and he couldn’t stop any of them. 

His throat went dry as he was struggling and every gulp of air felt like a razor blade in his mouth. His knees buckled underneath him, unable to support his weight any longer, he felt like he just got punched in the stomach as a wave of nausea took him under. Crawling on the filthy bathroom floor, Donghyuck barely made it to the toilet bowl before throwing up everything he managed to eat that day.

The whole room was spinning, his vision swimming with tears as he held onto the toilet to keep himself upright. He needed help, he knew he had to call someone, but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, couldn’t even make a noise. 

Donghyuck did the one thing that he still had the strength for and reached into his back pocket to pull out his phone. It took him much longer than it usually would to unlock it, but he finally punched in the right combination. His hands were shaking like crazy as his finger hovered over the icon with a familiar face on it.

_Old gym bathroom_ was all that he typed, but Donghyuck was hoping Renjun would understand. He would come, he always did. 

With that done, all that Hyuck could do was sag against the bathroom stall door and let his mind wander. _Mark doesn’t even know,_ he suddenly thought, letting out an emotionless chuckle. _I am a freak after all, just like he said all those years ago._

At the realisation, tears started streaming down his face with what felt like double the force. Just the thought of Mark finding out about his condition was enough to send him spiralling down another hole. So he sat there, absolutely drained of energy, with knees drawn up to his chest. 

It might’ve been seconds, minutes or maybe even hours - Donghyuck couldn’t tell - but eventually he felt familiar arms close around him. When he cracked his eyes open, he took in Renjun’s face full of worry and couldn’t contain his emotions any longer. Donghyuck practically launched himself into his best friend’s loving arms and just let go all of the tears that he worked so hard to hold back. 

He cried hard, cried until he couldn’t anymore. His eyes were puffy and swollen and his head hurt like hell; he didn’t know how much time had passed, but judging by the sounds of students pouring into the school yard, it must’ve been at least an hour. 

After taking some time to compose himself, Donghyuck pulled back from the shoulder that he’s been leaning into. He cringed at the massive wet stain on his friend’s school blazer and brought his hand up to wipe it. Renjun didn’t seem too bothered about it though, his eyes trained on Donghyuck’s face instead. He was waiting for an explanation. 

_“Not now, please,”_ he signed, scrunching up his face in apology. Renjun deserved to know, but Donghyuck wasn’t ready to go through all of that again yet. He just needed a bit of time. _“I’m sorry.”_

Renjun didn’t look particularly happy about being left in the dark, but nodded anyway and opened up his arms in invitation. Donghyuck happily accepted it and hugged the boy, burrowing his head in his friend’s shoulder. This time, he finally felt a sense of calm wash over him as he closed his eyes. 

***

“Helloo? Earth to Mark Lee?” 

Mark startled at the voice, ripped out of his thoughts by Jaemin. His friend, seated to his right, laughed at the reaction and proceeded to steal food from Mark’s tray. “What? It’s gonna get cold otherwise!” was all that he offered in explanation to the elder’s unimpressed look.

Mark only shrugged in response, sliding his tray closer to Jaemin. He wasn’t hungry anyway, so he let his friend have whatever was left and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

The encounter from earlier refused to leave Mark mind. He kept thinking about the boy in question, about how he looked and how he acted. There was something special about him, Mark thought. Although he didn’t get much time to take a proper look at his seatmate, it was enough to conclude that the boy was rather handsome. 

His features were delicate: his eyes, partially hidden by the soft-looking hair, were round and pretty, his lips were plump and full and Mark had no doubt they’d curl into a beautiful smile should he ever get to witness that. 

Thinking about it now, when their eyes met in class, it was almost like a tiny electric shock went through his body. Mark couldn’t recall anyone ever making him feel this way. As it stands now, the boy’s appearance was the only thing he could chalk up his reaction to. (He’d never admit to secretly looking for the guy in the school cafeteria crowd earlier.)

Aware of the fact that he went quiet again, Mark shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned his attention to his friend. 

Jaemin looked at Mark in amusement before snatching another fry from his plate. “You’ve been zoning out tons today. What’s up with you?”

“Oh, it’s, uh,” he stuttered, debating whether or not to share his thoughts with Jaemin. He decided he would - his best friend might even help identify the guy.

“You know the guy I sat next to in math?” He asked, hating the heat that was creeping up his cheeks. Mark didn’t know why his body reacted like that even at the slightest mention of the boy. Clearing his throat, he rushed to finish his sentence. “Do you.. Do you happen to know his name?”

Jaemin looked taken aback for a second. It must’ve been the first time in years Mark has ever bothered to learn anybody’s name. 

The surprise quickly faded and a sly smirk was playing on his lips now. “And why are you asking, Markie hyung?” Jaemin giggled, playfully punching his friend's shoulder. “You got a crush or something?”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Mark scoffed, rolling his eyes. He regretted asking, knowing all too well that his friend will never let this go. The blush was definitely visible now, but even if Jaemin noticed it, he didn’t comment. Mark was secretly grateful for that, because he didn’t know how he’d explain it if asked. 

Mark didn’t think his friend would answer, so he resorted to pulling out his phone and checking for calls or messages. He was worried about how Jisungie was holding up in school and wanted to be on call in case something happened. 

Surprisingly, Jaemin spoke up. 

“I had some classes with him last year, but we never spoke. He’s a real quiet guy, but seems to be a decent person.” Jaemin said, brows knitting together as he was trying his best to remember the name. “Could it be… Dongwook?” he raised his finger to his lips, fully concentrated now. “Or Dongseok… something along those lines.”

“Interesting,” Mark said and packing up his things. It was nearing lesson time so they had to get going. Their next class was in the block the furthest from the cafeteria, so he motioned for his friend to follow him. 

Jaemin hummed, picking up his tray and getting up after his friend. When they discarded their empty trays and left the building, he spoke up again. “Why were you asking anyway?”

“Oh, no reason.”

~~~

Dinner was going great and Hyuck was happy that Renjun ended up coming along. His friend was currently immersed in a conversation with Donghyuck’s uncles, keeping their attention away from him. Hyuck was thankful for that, he needed time to think everything through.

After the incident in the bathroom, the remainder of the day had passed by in a blur. Donghyuck recalled being dragged to rest of his classes but could hardly focus. Mark’s name was swarming his thoughts and Mark’s words were burning his skin. Fortunately, Renjun was patient enough not to ask too many questions, and Donghyuck assured him he’d explain everything after dinner.

That takes Hyuck to where he is now, sitting at the dining table and trying to find the nicest way to tell his best friend that his soulmate turned out to be the one person Renjun despised since they were children. _He is gonna be so pissed_ , Donghyuck thought with a sigh. 

His thoughts however, were cut short by Johnny’s concerned voice. 

“Donghyuck-ah, is everything okay?” He asked, worry displayed all over his face. “You’ve been very quiet today.” Johnny had known him ever since he was born, so it was no use trying to hide any emotions from him. Still, he tried his best to seem okay - he wasn’t ready to tell anyone just yet.

Donghyuck put down his cutlery and finished chewing before turning to his uncle. _“Ha-ha, you’re so funny, hyung,”_ he signed to Johnny with a beaming smile, referring to him being mute. Hyuck was hoping his joke would turn the table’s attention away from him. 

It seemed to work, because Taeyong let out a chuckle and changed the topic. Johnny didn’t seem convinced at all but decided not to pry, instead turning his attention back to his husband.

Hyuck continued eating, trying to ignore the frowns that Renjun kept sending his way.

“Alright, spill.” Renjun said the second the bedroom door slid shut behind him. He brushed past Donghyuck and sat down at the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to him. Hyuck hated to see the concern on his face so opted to look away as he took a seat.

_Okay, here goes,_ he thought as he prepared himself for what was to come. Taking a deep breath, he finally turned to face his best friend and raised his hands. _“I found my soulmate today,”_ he signed, and watched as Renjun’s face morphed from concern into confusion when he was trying to process the information Donghyuck had just laid out to him. As soon as he understood though, his face lit up instantly and he rushed forward and engulfed his best friend in a bone crushing hug.

“Oh my God, Hyuck, that’s incredible!” He all but squealed, moving closer to his friend. Donghyuck chuckled as he hugged his friend back, letting himself bask in the rare affection that Renjun had shown him today. Right at that moment, with his best friend by his side, he knew that everything would be okay.

But Donghyuck hadn’t finished talking yet, so he pulled back from the embrace with a heavy sigh and took Renjun’s hand into his. He tried his best to calm the slight tremor in his limbs, but to no avail. The worst part was yet to come. 

_“Injunnie, it's not so good,”_ he signed. Donghyuck was stalling, he knew it, but he couldn’t look at his friend right now, so he let his gaze drop to his shoes on the floor. His favourite vans were very muddy, he noted, and decided he should probably wash them soon. 

_Come on, just say it,_ he told himself. 

So he looked up at Renjun and signed: _“It’s Mark.”_

Donghyuck could only watch as his best friend’s happy smile disappeared off his face, quickly replaced by a frown instead. The elder shook his head in disbelief and Doghyuck could tell that Renjun had already caught on. Despite that, he still asked, apprehension now being prominent in his voice. It was almost like he was afraid to hear the answer. “Which Mark are we talking about?” 

_“Renjun, you know exactly who I’m talking about.”_

Renjun had frozen in his seat at that, letting out a small “fuck” with his broken voice in response. 

The room fell into a stilled silence, both of the boys taking their time to think things through. Donghyuck was trying to figure out how angry his best friend would get as soon as he saw what Hyuck was going to say next, while Renjun was probably in the process of planning Mark Lee’s slow and painful death.

When the silence got too long, he shook his friend’s shoulder to get his attention. Renjun seemed preoccupied, his gaze unfocused, so Donghyuck made sure to slow down his gestures so the elder could comprehend everything Hyuck was about to sign. 

_“Injunnie, I know you’re not gonna be a fan of this, but I was thinking maybe I should try to get to know him a bit more. He seats next to me in math so that makes it a bit easier.”_

Renjun’s face scrunched up in shock as he jumped up from his seat. He was looking right at Donghyuck, unblinking. “You were thinking... _What?!_ ”

_Oh boy._

Donghyuck frowned, trying his hardest not to curl into himself to avoid his friend’s gaze. He was never good with arguments, especially those with the people closest to him. Every time Donghyuck was confronted, all he wanted to do was curl up in the corner and cry, as pathetic as it sounded. It took a while for Renjun to get used to, with his fiery personality and a tendency to be outspoken about his opinions. But once he found out just how upset Donghyuck would get at that, he promised to make an effort to be gentle with his friend.

However, there was no gentleness in his tone when he spoke now. “Donghyuck,” he said, sending shivers down Hyuck's spine at the steel in his voice. “Do I need to remind you why doing anything with _Mark Lee_ ,” he spat the name out like poison, “is fucking _dumb_?”

Renjun didn’t even bother to use sign language this time, which only highlighted how displeased he was with Donghyuck’s idea. Fighting the urge to drop the subject, Donghyuck stood up in an attempt to calm his friend who was currently pacing the length of Hyuck’s tiny bedroom back and forth. 

_“I never said anything about doing anything other than talking. Besides, Injunnie, it’s been nine years. I forgave him a long time ago and I think.. I think you should, too.”_

His best friend laughed at that, but his laugh was anything but humorous. His jaw was tense and his eyebrows furrowed, frowning at Donghyuck in disbelief. “Forgive? Forget? Hyuck, are you out of your mind?!”

_“Renjun, please listen -,“_ he tried, already feeling tears prickle behind his eyes. _No_ , he told himself, _not gonna cry now._

“No, Donghyuck, you listen! It’s Mark Lee we’re talking about for fuck’s sake!” He snapped, looking like he was seconds away from exploding. “I love you dearly, but this is dumb even for you!”

Hyuck flinched at the hurtful words and felt his own anger bubble up in his chest. _“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!”_ He signed, shoving Renjun back a step. 

“I knew you believed in this soulmate bullshit, but you can’t just magically forget everything that asshole did the second his words appear on your body!” Renjun didn’t seem to care that his screaming could attract Johnny and Taeyong upstairs. “And what makes you so sure that he’ll even want _you?_ ”

The second he let the words slip, Renjun regretted ever opening his mouth.

His face paled and the expression of anger was replaced by one of remorse. He rushed to apologise, lifting his hands to Hyuck’s face, but Donghyuck was having none of that. It was too late.

Donghyuck cut his friend off mid sentence, stepping away from the bed. It was one thing to think those thoughts in his head, but hearing them said out loud by the person who was supposed to be the closest to him hurt a million times more.

Tears were threatening to roll down his cheeks but he ordered them to stop, trying his hardest to compose himself. _“Just because you don’t believe in soulmates,”_ he signed slowly with an unreadable expression on his face, _“doesn’t mean you have the right to walk around ruining it for everybody else. Now, I’d like you to leave. Please.”_

“Hyuck, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to say that -” Renjun tried, looking right into Donghyuck’s eyes, and the tears that were pooling there finally spilled over. 

_“Get out!”_ was all Hyuck managed to sign before he felt like he’d collapse. 

He looked up into his best friend’s eyes and hoped that his facial expressions could convey everything his voice could not.

Whatever Renjun saw, he must’ve understood it too, because he nodded slowly and gave his friend one last apologetic look before leaving the room quietly.

Needless to say, Donghyuck cried himself to sleep that night.

~~~

Objectively speaking, Renjun had the right to react the way he did.

Mark gave him a hell of a hard time in elementary school, but it’s been years since then. Donghyuck had moved on a long time ago and assumed that his best friend did the same. As it turns out, he was wrong.

Thinking back to those times wasn’t something that Donghyuck liked to do. He was only seven or eight back then, just months after the accident. Little Donghyuck had been so nervous to start school, even though uncle Johnny assured him that he shouldn’t be. All the teachers knew of his condition and were careful not to make him answer in class.

In the beginning, it was as good as he could’ve expected it to be. He didn’t bother anyone and no one bothered him and school life was great for a while. But Donghyuck had learned the hard way that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. 

He doesn’t even remember what he’d done to piss off Mark, who was still called Minhyung back then. Whatever he did though, it must’ve been awful, because what followed were absolutely the worst months of his life.

At first there were small things. He’d come to class and find words like “freak” and “loser” written on his table. His bullies would always call him names, awaiting a reaction from Hyuck, a reaction they’d never get. Their irritated faces were worth all the headache though, so Donghyuck kept his chin high and his mouth shut. 

Everyday without fail he’d be tripped on his way to classes or get his lunch stolen from him when he wasn’t looking, but those were all manageable. It got much worse when one day Minhyung’s his dumb posse cornered him after class and hit him, demanding him to say something. They kept hitting, trying to make him answer, while Minhyung himself stood back, just watching.

Donghyuck had wondered then, looking into those cold brown eyes, how so much anger could fit into such a small person.

He never breathed a word about it to Johnny, afraid to disappoint his uncle who’d worked so hard to get Donghyuck into a normal school. Soon, Injunnie came along and it became easier to deal with the nightmare. 

The torment would’ve continued if Renjun hadn’t intervened. He was fuming when he noticed the bruises on Donghyuck’s stomach and the younger had no choice but to tell him about what was going on. 

Renjun, as tiny as he was back then, somehow got the nerve to come up to Lee Minhyung himself, a boy in the grade above who was way bigger and stronger, and told him to go fuck himself in broken Korean. 

Upon finding that out, Donghyuck was already preparing a funeral for himself along with his best friend, when suddenly the bullying had just… stopped. Renjun never told him what he did exactly. Whatever it was though, it must’ve worked, because Minhyung stopped paying him any attention, stopped even looking at him and his little clique left Donghyuck alone.

He didn’t even have time to question it, because not long after, Minhyung himself suddenly disappeared. 

At first, it was heaven for Donghyuck: not having his bully around, not having to constantly look back awaiting a shove. But as time passed, he had found himself worried about the boy. Renjun was not pleased about it when Donghyuck accidentally let it slip, so he learned to ignore any lingering thoughts about his now ex-bully. 

No one had heard from Minhyung in a year. Then, a rumour came around that he’d be coming back to repeat the year. But whoever had returned then, it wasn’t Lee Minhyung. 

This person may have looked like him and sounded like him, but it wasn’t the old him. This boy always had his head hung low, never talked back to teachers and didn’t pay anyone much attention. He never spoke unless he was spoken to and insisted on being called Mark from then on. 

Despite now being in the same grade, they never interacted. Mark never acknowledged his existence and Donghyuck was eager to keep it that way.

And that is how it remained until now.

***

The next time Mark saw the boy was three days later. 

Mark arrived to class early and there were only two or three other people present. He bowed to Mrs Kim in greeting, but she hardly paid him any mind. He went to take his seat and wait for class to start.

He would be lying if he said he didn’t think about his new seatmate. Mark didn’t even know why the weird guy was stuck in his head, but he decided to ignore it. The only thing he wanted to do was to apologise properly: he still felt a bit bad about startling the guy last time. Once that was done, Mark had every intention of pretending the guy doesn’t exist.

He took out his textbook and pencil case, ready for the lesson. The only thing left to do was to wait for the boy to arrive.

Mark didn’t have to wait long and soon a familiar head of messy brown hair appeared from behind the door. And the guy looked… good, Mark realised. 

At first glance, the outfit seemed simple: blue and white checkered flannel, white t-shirt underneath, and some distressed denim jeans. However, Mark could tell that every piece of clothing was carefully hand-picked to compliment the boy. 

The flannel was only half-buttoned with the sleeves rolled up to display a couple silver bracelets around his wrist. The low cut white tee showcased his collarbones, not too much, but just the perfect amount, leaving Mark marvelling at its contrast with the beautiful tan skin. The shirt was half-tucked into the jeans that hugged his lovely thighs just right. 

He looked _astonishingly_ good.

Mark knew he’d been caught staring when the boy stopped in his tracks a couple feet away. Slowly, he raised his gaze to the boy’s face. And wait a second, _is he wearing eyeliner?_

_He’s gorgeous,_ Mark thought, finally tearing his eyes away from the guy, _and he fucking knows it, too._

The chair next to him made a noise and moments later, the boy was seated next to him, purposefully avoiding Mark’s eyes. It didn’t put Mark off from speaking to him.

“Hey, I just wanted to say sorry about last time. I didn’t mean to startle you and I hope you’re okay now.” Mark tried to sound as apologetic as possible without sounding snobby. For some unknown reason, he really wanted to have a good rep in this guy’s book. 

When no response came, Mark was taken aback, but carried on anyway. “I wanted to apologise right after class but you left rather quickly and I -, ” he was cut off by Mrs Kim’s loud voice announcing the beginning of the lesson. He didn't notice how the boy next to him flinched at his last words.

Mark held back a frustrated noise in his throat when the guy didn’t even spare him a glance. Here he was, making an effort to apologise, being outright ignored in return. It wasn't something he usually tolerated, but it was different this time. 

Instead of doing what he was expected to do though - which was to shut up and drop it, it only got him more fired up. He was very curious now, wondering who in the world the guy next to him is. 

“Don’t you know that ignoring somebody who is trying to apologise to you is very rude?” He said with zero hostility in his voice. Mark knew that he came off as a condescending asshole right now, but he didn’t care. 

The guy only huffed in response, obviously trying his best not to let his facade down. _Now this is getting interesting._

Before Mark had a chance to speak again, the teacher called out his name and reprimanded him for speaking. It was the usual stuff, ‘principal’s office yadda yadda yadda’. He didn’t pay it any mind, but it looked like Mark was going to have to change his strategy. 

He waited until the teacher turned back around and flipped his notebook over to an empty page in the back, swiftly ripping out the last sheet. Mark thought about what to write and ended up settling with a cocky sounding sentence. It was exactly his style, too. 

_‘why are you ignoring me, sweetheart? you’re breaking my heart :(‘_

When the guy picked up the note, he outright snorted, finally looking at Mark. The elder smirked, secretly happy that his plan worked, to which the guy only responded with an unimpressed quirk of the brow. He demonstratively scrunched up the note and lightly tossed it back to Mark, turning back to his work.

Mark stubbornly carried on, wrote another note and slid it over, not feeling the least bit put off by the cold shoulder he’s been getting. This is the most intrigued he has felt in a long time and he wasn’t just going to let it go.

_‘if you’re gonna play hard to get, at least tell me your name, princess ;) ‘_

Mark never actually expected to get an answer which is exactly why he was shocked to see the boy next to him slide over a note fifteen minutes later. He was stunned, just staring at the note for a while, before reaching over to grab it.

_‘Donghyuck’_ was all that the note said. Mark said the name to himself quietly, mouth curling over the yet unfamiliar combination of letters. It was a beautiful name, he thought, and it really suited its owner. 

He looked over to the boy, who had a name now, and found the other already watching him intently.

“Donghyuck.” Mark said, out loud this time, and smiled brightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo hoo, finally! I was getting tired of referring to Haechan as "the guy" when I wrote from Mark's perspective, so its a relief that he has a name now :p  
> 
> 
> also, i'm sorry for doing this to Hyuck :c  
> i promise, Mark will redeem himself eventually


End file.
